Sculpt a duck from a ball of clay

Level

Beginner

Time

10 min

Version

Shapeaway 4.0

You need

Mouse or tablet

You’ll make

A sitting duck, painted yellow with an orange beak

Files

None, you start from a new sculpt

A duck is two balls and a beak, which makes it the perfect first sculpt: you’ll use the four tools you’ll use most, and finish in ten minutes. The Duck sample (File › Open recent) shows where you’re heading.

Block out the body

1. Press Ctrl N, choose Sphere at Standard detail.
2. Press X until mirroring is on the X axis, so both sides of the duck match.
3. Press 7 for Grab. With a big brush (]), drag the back of the ball out into a tail, and squash the front down a little.
4. Press 1 for Add, and build up the chest at the front with a few strokes.
5. Hold Shift and smooth everything until the body reads as one soft egg shape.

Add the head

1. Press 8 for Shape, choose the ball, and click on top of the front of the body for the head.
2. Hold Shift and smooth round the neck so the head grows out of the body.
3. Press 5 for Inflate and puff up the cheeks slightly.

The beak and eyes

1. With Snake Hook (Shift + 3) and a small brush, pull the beak forward from the front of the head in one stroke.
2. Press 4 for Flatten and flatten the beak’s top and bottom.
3. Use Carve (2) with a small brush to dent the eye sockets, then Shape with a small ball for each eye. With mirroring on, one click places both.

Paint and save

1. Press 9 for Paint. Pick a yellow and choose Fill all.
2. Pick orange and paint the beak; pick black and paint the eyes.
3. Press R for the realistic view to admire it.
4. Press Ctrl S and save it as duck.shapeaway.

Tip

Made it wobbly? Hold Shift and smooth: most first sculpts need more smoothing than you’d think.

Next: Make a mug you can actually print.